Embracing Mobile Gaming and the Future

I just bought a (digital) boatload of Android games. Why? Because I’m suddenly infatuated with mobile gaming. For the longest time I was resistant to it – I simply loathed touchscreen controls. I still prefer a traditional control scheme, but in some of the recent Android games I’ve gotten my damn dirty paws on I wasn’t having as much trouble. I suppose it’s plausible that touchscreen controls have evolved in the last few years.

Not only that, but I have a way more capable phone now: The HTC One X. With a 4.7″ screen, my fingers and eyes aren’t competing for screen space like with my previous midget phone, the iPhone 4.

I’m beginning to see the true potential for mobile games. I read a survey recently which found that a growing number of people aren’t just using their phones/tablets to game on the go. A fair amount of them are hanging out at home while they play. There are two obvious things that can be deduced from this: For one, since so many millions of people basically own a device that can play high quality video games, well, they’re doing it. And second, more people are starting to play games on their phones and tablets rather than on their Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, and so on. Nintendo’s main competitor isn’t Microsoft or Sony, it’s Apple. This isn’t something I just realized, everyone’s been pointing out this alarming trend for years. However, now it’s clear as day to me.

That’s why today I downloaded (some free, some… not so free) close to 20 games and why I’ll buy plenty more soon enough. I want to know which games are good, what makes them good, what could make them better, etc. I also need to figure out what my tastes are .

It’s exciting to think of where video games will be 10 years from now and how we’ll be consuming it. One thing I’m certain of is that after this next console generation, the age of the traditional console will be no more. After the Wii U, Xbox 720, PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita have run their course, I don’t think we’ll be seeing follow-ups in the same vein.

Here are some of the games I’ve fiddled with so far that seem cool from the small amount of time I’ve spent with them: